Patriot Subaru

by billc on 12/29/2022

Patriot was completely unprepared when I came in to pick up my new car. We were just adding a car-- no trade, just buying a car. The first thing they asked me was "where is your trade?" I ordered the car with a 2" hitch. Subaru does not sell a 2" OEM hitch for the Forester. David Shoemaker, the Sales Manager, did not know this. So, he ordered the car with the wrong hitch. When the car came in and I discovered the hitch did not fit, his service guys said to hit the hitch with a hammer until the 1.25" receiver popped out. The only problem with that? It was welded to the outer housing. No way was it coming off. Ultimately, they took the hitch off and put the right one one. 6 hours of my time (round trip) and they want accolades for "fixing the problem." Now for the funniest part-- The day before we were supposed to pick up our car, Shoemaker emails me and says he "forgot he was on vacation" and that he would not be there when I picked up my car. Then, later on, he tells me he was NOT on vacation-- that he just didn't come in that day. One of those statements has to be a lie. Do I know which one is? Nope. Doesn't matter. The problem is a lack of honesty, though. The deal was so screwed up, I asked to be taken off of their email distribution list shortly after we took delivery of he car. Next problem? Shoemaker e-mails me personally... again. And when I review some of my concerns about what happened a year ago, he responds by saying "I should have let you buy your car from a local dealer." Seriously? This guy is so arrogant that he thinks he directs what people buy and when they buy it? The funniest part, though, is that he was stupid enough to put this IN WRITING, to me. Keep in mind, this is the behavior of the SALES MANAGER of Patriot Subaru. If he acts like this, how do you expect his sales reps are going to act? Don't say I didn't warn you about these guys. Don't buy a car from Patriot Subaru.

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by Jonathan W on 04/21/2022

To say I hate purchasing cars is an extreme understatement. So to say I didn't hate a single thing about my experience at Patriot is extremely high praise. I'd never interacted with them before and feel pretty silly that it took me so long t find them. Each person we dealt with was professional, honest, diligent, fair, thoughtful, helpful, flexible, courteous, good natured and good humored, extremely fairly priced, and incredibly easy to work with. If you are in the market for a Subaru, new or used, this is where I'd start. As a three Subaru family, we won't be going anywhere else from now on. Finally, a particular shout out to Josh W. who shepherded us through the whole process. Six stars to him and the whole crew on a five star scale. Thanks everyone. We'll definitely be back.

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by Maine_driver on 07/24/2016

I was greeted with rare professional courtesy, which never waned throughout. Was not pressured and I bought the car later the same day; however the sales specialist, Matt, explained features of the used car with pride and thoroughness I've never before seen. Jackie went through the finance process with me with the same courtesy and professionalism, and at the end, Devan paired my phone with the car's system. Top notch from start to finish. Can't recommend this dealership more highly.

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by KSpader on 07/08/2013

Actually HERE in the dealership waiting to take delivery of my new 2014 Forester. This was the only dealership that didn't lie to me about their inventory, they actually DO have the cars in stock, and there was no hassle or pressure to buy. Got e-price from the web department earlier this morning, driving home in my new car tonight. Easiest purchase of a new car ever. Highly recommend.

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by Grimmy77 on 06/20/2013

My wife decided or buying a Subaru. We met a salesman at this dealership who was very nice. He did everything to make my wife feel comfortable buying a car. She finally decided that she liked the smaller vehicle rather than the slightly larger one he was nudging her into. Apparently he couldn't find one on the lot so he nudged her a little harder ( still very nice) into buying the vehicle he does have. When she finally said no, he sent the sales manager over to beat her into submission and he stormed off swearing about how he's the best [non-permissible content] salesman she could ever buy a car from, ( close enough so I could hear his performance.) when my wife walked out on the sales manager, he started trying to make me feel guilty. This is a great place to buy a car so long as you buy the car they want you to have. Otherwise this is a den of very polished [non-permissible content] who are extremely good at their craft. Warning, do not say no to them! They get very angry and throw temper tantrums.

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by david305 on 02/05/2013

Wonderful experience from the quote through the purchase. Jackie and the others were great and I know the price was fair.

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by sdeschambault on 01/28/2012

From the first phone call I placed into Patriot Subaru to the moment I drove off the lot with my new vehicle, I had nothing less than exceptional Customer service! Jackie was very knowledgeable and willing to work with me as much as she could over the phone to help make my car buying experience painless, and rather enjoyable. When I walked through the doors at Patriot Subaru, I was greeted and helped right away. They gave me an acceptable amount for my trade and gave me the best price on my new car! I couldn't have asked for an easier more relaxed experience when making such an important decision. I thank everyone over at Patriot Subaru for their exceptional Service and wish them all the best!

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by spatrick1 on 02/11/2011

I just bought my 2011 WRX from Vinnie at Patriot Subaru. Got a great quote online, came in, and everything was as it was laid out in my emails. The only thing left to work on was my trade in car, which they were very very fair about evaluating and negotiating the value to something we were all comfortable with. Would highly highly recommend them as they were the only ones who were straightforward with me about price, and also, how I don't have to go to them for every service for the lifetime warranty that they offer which the other dealerships seemed to forget to mention when I was working with them. Would recommend anyone to check them out, they know their stuff.

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by subi4 on 08/01/2010

My wife and I went car shopping last week. We went to Patriot Subaru in Saco. She was interested in a new Subaru Forester, and test drove one. We came to an agreement on a price, but the only thing we did not like was the color of the car. The salesman told us that he was going to check other dealerships to see if they could find one that was not silver. They called a few dealerships and said that they couldn't find one yet but they would let us know by 8:00 that night or first thing the next morning. The salesman told us we needed to make a deposit of $500. I specifically asked him that if we didn't like or want the car that they got from another dealership at that point, what would happen, and he said they would refund our deposit. I paid him with my debit card and he said he would call us. By 11:00 the next morning, we had not heard anything from them. I called the dealership and asked for the salesman and they told us he had the day off. I told them that we were supposed to recieve a call from them about our car, and they said that they would have someone call me. I picked my wife up at work and she was disappointed that they had not called. We were driving by another Subaru dealership in South Portland called Pape, and we pulled in. They had the car that we wanted there. While we were at Pape, the salesman from Patriot texted me and said they found a car and that "our payment was going to go down significantly because it doesn't have all those accessories." To make a long story short, we ended up buying the car from Pape because the car at Patriot was just not what we wanted. I called the salesman and let him know and told him I wanted by deposit back. He said I could come in and get it back. I went to Patriot to get the deposit back and was told that they will not give it to me. I have a reciept for the deposit and no where on it does it say it is non refundable. The sales manager was really rude and unprofessional, and then the owner came out and told me flat out that I was not going to get a dime of my money back and called me a liar. They were definately intimidating me out of a deposit that I was told was refundable. I would not deal with Patriot on anything. When you are buying a car they act very friendly and helpful, but I saw a different side of them and you would not want to be treated the way I was. A car is a major purchase you make very rarely and I would make sure you deal with a dealer that is honest and will treat you the right way ad Patriot is not that dealer. This situation easily could have happened to you. Good Luck.

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by jlf44 on 03/10/2010

I recently purchased a used vehicle from Patriot. At the negotiation I was adamant that I would not purchase a car that day if I was not pre-approved on my own. If I needed a cosigner I was going to sleep on my decision. The dealer knew I had a cosigner if need be however I wanted to find a loan without one. I was pre-approved but only because the dealer "accidentally" put down the wrong amount of monthly income (a number I had never mentioned nor had written on my credit application). So once I had taken the car home for a few weeks they came back saying I then needed a co-signer to keep the car. At that point I had already registered it and wasn't about to bring the car back. I felt the dealer fraudulently got me pre-approved just to make the sale, knowing I had a cosigner and I wouldn't have the heart to return the car after a month of ownership.

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by rxpgtl1 on 04/24/2009

I had never been to Patriot Subaru before but ended buying the car I wanted the same day. I knew I wanted a WRX. and went to visit a dealership near Portland Maine twice. Both times they did not have the exact vehicle I was looking for and the dealership just seemed cold but eager to sell you something. I walked in to patriot subaru not expecting to buy anything but this dealership put me immediately at ease and they had a wonderful selection of cars. On my way home, with my new vehicle the salesmanager at the other dealership called me and demanded to know why I did not buy the car from them. That only confirmed my decision that I bought from the right dealer. Sometimes it takes more than a good price for a dealer to sell a car.

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by nedw on 09/03/2008

Sales staff was very nice and seemed to be pretty up front about things. They were willing to bargain and their final offer came back just above that of other dealers in the area. The tipping point was Patriot's Tires for Life program; an agreement where they will provide free tires for the duration of your ownership (I don't think it's life of car, could be wrong) provided you have all required service performed in their service department. We figured over the life of the car that would offset their slightly higher price so we bit. Now, part of the whole sales pitch was their superior service, "We'll pick up your car at work", "We'll drop it off when we're done", "We live near you, we'll even pick it up and drop it off at your house" (No joke). Sure enough, they delivered the new car to our house but when it came time for the first scheduled maintenance we were told that they don't offer pick up/ drop off service at home or office. We must have misunderstood the quotes above... Not a huge problem I guess, they're considerably further away than other Subaru dealerships but we can swing it. So while I was waiting on the first scheduled maintenance, I asked what exactly is "required service" in the Free Tires for Life program, do I have to drive down every time we need an oil change or are they just talking about the regular interval service? I was told that I could get the oil changed anywhere, but that the scheduled services needed to be done in their service department. Seems fair. Wrapping up... We called to schedule a service visit and asked that the tires be replaced under the program, we were told that we had not met the terms of the agreement and no longer were eligible for the program because we had not brought the car to them for oil changes. They stood firm on their position and lost a customer for life.

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